2012-05-04_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - C2010089

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dated June 2, 2011. A second adequacy letter was sent on September 9, 2011 and supplements were sent on September 16, 2011 and October 20, 2011. WFC’s response to the second set of adequacy concerns was submitted on December 1, 2011. Preliminary adequacy review number three was sent to WFC on January 13, 2012. Responses from WFC to the third adequacy review letter were received by the Division on February 21, 2012. On September 9, 2011 the Division forwarded relevant sections of the permit to the OSM requesting their assistance with the Section 7 consultation for threatened and endangered species. The OSM did not receive the request and a follow-up request was sent on October 5, 2011 along with a water depletion analysis that was prepared by WFC. A number of meetings were held before and during the review process to discuss the proposed plans and other issues associated with the New Horizon North Mine. Pre-Application Meetings were held on June 12, 2008, December 2, 2008, and August 18, 2009. Following issuance of the Division’s first adequacy letter, a meeting was held on February 1, 2011. Following the second adequacy letter a meeting was held on September 27, 2011 and lastly a meeting was held on January 20, 2012 to discuss the remaining issues before WFC responded to the third adequacy review letter. All issues have been resolved and the Division is issuing a proposed decision to approve the New Horizon North Mine. Description of the Environment Introduction The proposed New Horizon North (NHN) Mine permit area encompasses a total of 322 acres in western Montrose County, three miles northwest of the town of Nucla. Settlement of the area began to occur in the 1890’s, with livestock grazing being the primary focus. The Nucla area has been agriculturally productive for over a century, due to construction of the Colorado Cooperative Company (CCC) Ditch, which was completed in 1910. The CCC Ditch diverts flow from the San Miguel River at a point several miles upstream of the town of Nucla. The Second Park Lateral ditch, carrying a portion of the CCC Ditch flow, traverses the proposed mining area. Uranium mining has surged and waned in the area since the discovery of carnotite ore in 1898. Currently, agriculture and seasonal tourism (primarily big game hunting) are the primary land uses in the Nucla area. In recent decades, the Nucla area has been host to a number of commercial coal mining operations, beginning with Edna Coal Company’s “Navajo Mine” in 1958. Coal from this mine was primarily utilized to fuel a small coal fired power plant located in Nucla. The Navajo Mine, which was located just south of the proposed NHN Mine permit area, was purchased by Peabody Coal Company (Peabody) in 1963, and renamed the “Nucla Mine”. With the creation of the Colorado regulatory program, Peabody was ultimately issued Permit No. C-1981-008 in May of 1983. Peabody also expanded the Nucla Mine to incorporate additional lands east of the original area. Portions of the permit area were transferred to Montrose and San Miguel County following 4